Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010)

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Cde.
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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#76 Post by Cde. » Fri Aug 20, 2010 8:14 am

This was a lot of fun...for the first half. The further it got from directly translating the comic to the screen, the more it became a string of fight scenes, and the more the effects numbed me. Still some good jokes as it went on, though. The conclusion is a bit out-of-nowhere and definitely reeks of reshoots.

The film has a lot less depth than the comic. I think Edgar Wright really played up the 'geeky' aspect and fight sequences, while the comic was a lot more down-to-earth, with more of a focus on character relationships.
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That's probably why the film was originally written with Scott ending up with Knives. She was characterized as the girl who accepted him for the geek he was. She listened to his Pac-Man trivia with interest, while Ramona was condescending. Tellingly, the Pac-Man quote and the difference in the girl's responses is probably the biggest deviation from the comic script in the first half.
If it were my adaptation, I would have halved the number of evil exes.

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Kellen
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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#77 Post by Kellen » Mon Aug 23, 2010 6:09 pm

I liked the film but I didn't love it. I agree with the above poster about how when the film shifted away from the book that it just became a bunch of action/fight montages, I really wish that they would've stay true to the novels all the way through. I was hoping we would see a scene in which Knives and Scott made out and then talk about what an awful experience it was for everyone (including the reader/viewer in this case). I don't know why because I read all the novels but I started to get a little bored with the exes halfway through, I didn't really care for the roxy richter/twins scenes at all. I don't know if it was because I didn't like the actors who played them, or maybe I just thought it blended into: Scott and Ramona talk then a fight scene then repeat. However I did like that in the final scenes:
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they stuck with the: 'Scott earned the power of love' and 'power of understanding/self-respect' bit. I was worried that some of that would've been taken out when I heard they were veering away from the novels about halfway through.
Overall though, I enjoyed it and I hope for Wright's sake that the poor box office performance doesn't hurt him in the future.

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Svevan
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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#78 Post by Svevan » Mon Aug 23, 2010 10:00 pm

Kellen wrote:I didn't really care for the roxy richter/twins scenes at all.
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What I disliked about both of these fight scenes was the lack of background - we get to know nothing at all about Ramona's relationship with the twins, and next-to-nothing about her relationship with Roxy. However, both fights were (once we got into them) wonderful to watch - Ramona fighting Roxy through Scott was a visual and kinetic way to lead up to the break-up scene, and the geeky premise of musical instruments becoming videogame controllers in the twin fight was just cool (as much of this film is "just cool" in the best possible way). So I regret the lack of background,

but hopefully (seriously fingers crossed cause this movie was fucking candy) there's an extended cut out there...

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#79 Post by Cde. » Mon Aug 23, 2010 11:56 pm

Svevan wrote:
Kellen wrote:I didn't really care for the roxy richter/twins scenes at all.
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What I disliked about both of these fight scenes was the lack of background - we get to know nothing at all about Ramona's relationship with the twins, and next-to-nothing about her relationship with Roxy. However, both fights were (once we got into them) wonderful to watch - Ramona fighting Roxy through Scott was a visual and kinetic way to lead up to the break-up scene, and the geeky premise of musical instruments becoming videogame controllers in the twin fight was just cool (as much of this film is "just cool" in the best possible way). So I regret the lack of background,

but hopefully (seriously fingers crossed cause this movie was fucking candy) there's an extended cut out there...
The draft script I read doesn't go into much more detail than what you saw in the film, so I doubt it.
If you want an extended version of the story, why not read the comic?
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READ THE COMIC

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#80 Post by Svevan » Tue Aug 24, 2010 2:59 am

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I HAVE
Maybe you didn't mean this, but I think it's a poor argument to say that the comics provide the supplement to the film that the film should've provided itself.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#81 Post by Cde. » Tue Aug 24, 2010 5:17 am

Svevan wrote:
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I HAVE
SpoilerShow
AWESOME
Svevan wrote:Maybe you didn't mean this, but I think it's a poor argument to say that the comics provide the supplement to the film that the film should've provided itself.
Nah, I wasn't saying that. The comic is the comic and the film is the film. I was just saying that the comics tell a much more fleshed out version of this story.
I agree that the film falls flat in the third act. It really feels as though it's just rushing through the battles to get to the conclusion.
I think attempting to cram all six battles into one under-2-hour film was a doomed enterprise from the start. The film obviously strays from the comic quite a bit in the latter half, so why stay faithful to the number of exes if it's a struggle to cram them all in? There was no special significance to there being seven. There could have been four battles and the story wouldn't suffer for it.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#82 Post by Svevan » Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:02 pm

Agreed. Though I think "four evil exes" would've had less pizazz.

Honestly, this could've been an excellent two-parter in the style of Kill Bill since it is, essentially, Kill BIll.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#83 Post by domino harvey » Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:06 pm

Pitchfork at its worst (or should I say, Fluxblog at its worst): This is a really good soundtrack that captures the feel of the film. I am thus awarding it a 6.7 out of ten

Oh, and you all are nuts, re: cutting the fights

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#84 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 3:41 pm

Kick-Ass, er... I mean, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, was this year's second unbelievably hollow exercise in trying to tune in to the personality of Generation Y and embarassing me, someone who's nearing his exit from the 18-24 demographic once and for all, in the process. Michael Cera's lead performance is much like Aaron Johnson's in the former film, a main character with an incredibly frustrating and aggravating personality, one that can't help but lead the viewer to wonder why someone so devoid of appeal is expected to light up the screen. Cera is far from his days as George Michael Bluth, hell, even far from his days as Paulie Bleeker - he's constantly mugging and scratching at his mop of hair, barely being able to contain a smile knowing that he's part of a project that so many will consider the definative film of his [and their] generation's early twenties. Why that is, I have absolutely no idea. What we have here is devoid of any sense of humor, even the most talented and beautiful young actors and actresses on the planet are given throwaway roles that do them absolutely no favors (Mary Elizabeth Winstead is particularly misused, as the most appealing thing her character does throughout the entire film is change the color of her hair). Ah, here's Allison Pill! Whoops, she's only here to pout too. Oh - Brandon Routh! Oh shit - only on screen to go down well-tread and past-its-expiration date "comedic" territory with a bunch of vegan jokes that weren't funny before they started.

Oh, and as for Kieran Culkin - he does the best job in the film with the shallow role he's given, but oh what a shallow role it is. Much like Kick-Ass, this film treats homosexuality like it's just a crude joke. Culkin is never on screen without a title card under him mentioning how gay he is, Cera telling him he's gaying things up, or Culkin himself never finishing a sentence without talking about being gay. And then there's the sight gags involving their bed, which ensures that even during scenes when Culkin doesn't have any lines, he gets to make his mark. To treat something that's just a reality of life with a shallow Will and Grace-ian "I'm the gay! character!" routine is unspeakably annoying by the end of the film. Speaking of unspeakably annoying by the end of the film, the fight sequences lack the creativity and visual mastery of, say, Kill Bill, choosing instead to rely on low-fi special effects to remind us that we should be being entertained. I understand that's the style of the comics, but I don't know why that should make it any better for someone who's stuck in the theater watching this 2 hour cringefest. By the time Cera is fighting Schwartzman for the second time; and we've been through all the bad dialogue, all the mugging, all the smug self satisfaction; I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. This film just would not end.

Much like its sister film Kick-Ass, it's another unbelievably shallow lo-fi nostalgic ringer t-shirt of a movie, and unless you're merely amused by fleeting references to the way people in their early 20s these days occasially may interact with each other maybe... then stick with the emotionally honest and just-restrained-enough (500) Days of Summer and ignore this piece of junk.

Edgar Wright, please go back to the U.K. and mail us back more of those entertaining movies that you were making over there! And please leave Michael Cera out of them.
Last edited by mfunk9786 on Fri Aug 27, 2010 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#85 Post by swo17 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 3:49 pm

mfunk, do you even like movies?

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#86 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 3:51 pm

Obviously not.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#87 Post by Finch » Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:03 pm

Surely mfunk's post deserves better replies than that unless you were tongue in cheek. I won't be seeing the film until Sunday but it sounds as though he is making valid points (rather disheartening to hear about the homophobia most of all). I merely enjoyed than loved Wright's previous two films and having read opposing viewpoints, I feel I've got a good idea of what to expect while still being able to make up my own mind. And I find that the criticism levelled at the film here is not such that it can be dismissed with the argument "it wasn't just the right film for you" or "you don't seem to like anything".

Leaving Pilgrim aside for a second, I'd like to see Edgar Wright tackle a thriller down the line. He could be very good at this.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#88 Post by LQ » Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:03 pm

mfunk9786 wrote: Much like its sister film Kick-Ass, it's another unbelievably shallow lo-fi nostalgic ringer t-shirt of a movie
Funny, this coming from the guy who liked Hot Tub Time Machine ;)

However, I agree completely with mfunk's review. My opinion might be colored by that fact that I've never really played video games or read graphic novels nor dipped even a toe into that scene, but this film was horrendous to sit through. The dialogue was so off-puttingly on the nose (the vegan lines mfunk mentioned above just curdled my blood; "bi-curious, bi-furious!, UGH) and I just couldn't handle watching such shallow characters entrenched in this detached hipster videogame-comic culture. Not for me.
I did like all the visual bells and whistles though.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#89 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:14 pm

LQ wrote:
mfunk9786 wrote: Much like its sister film Kick-Ass, it's another unbelievably shallow lo-fi nostalgic ringer t-shirt of a movie
Funny, this coming from the guy who liked Hot Tub Time Machine ;)
Hot Tub Time Machine had the unique distinction of being populated by funny people, funny writing, and therefore - was funny.

And Finch, I wouldn't describe it as homophobia per se, more like an immature misfire of an attempt to be super cool-'n-casual about homosexuality.

And I always found Hot Fuzz to be a very successful comedic thriller that'd have a lot of merit even if the jokes were left out, but maybe that's just me.
Last edited by mfunk9786 on Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#90 Post by swo17 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:17 pm

Finch wrote:Surely mfunk's post deserves better replies than that unless you were tongue in cheek.
This is just the way our generation talks to each other.

He didn't like Inception either, which I believe is the only other movie that has come out this year. If mfunk is going to set the bar for a movie's success above "unbelievable hollowness," he's going to be waiting around for a while to find a winner. Just lower your standards, man!
Last edited by swo17 on Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#91 Post by mfunk9786 » Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:20 pm

I just decided that this was the year to take on anything that Domino holds dear.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#92 Post by knives » Fri Aug 27, 2010 5:35 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:[then stick with the emotionally honest and just-restrained-enough (500) Days of Summer and ignore this piece of junk.
I was going to post something better, but lost it so listen to Tom instead.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#93 Post by domino harvey » Fri Aug 27, 2010 6:16 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:I just decided that this was the year to take on anything that Domino holds dear.
Image

I love this film too much to be of much use in a debate on the merits of its basic composition, but I will say that you are bar-none the most unpredictable person to compare my tastes with on this board, mfunk!

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#94 Post by Jean-Luc Garbo » Fri Aug 27, 2010 7:07 pm

domino harvey wrote:I love this film too much to be of much use in a debate on the merits of its basic composition
You're not even going to try? You can do a good rundown of Inception, but Scott Pilgrim leaves you wordless?

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#95 Post by domino harvey » Fri Aug 27, 2010 7:58 pm

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:
domino harvey wrote:I love this film too much to be of much use in a debate on the merits of its basic composition
You're not even going to try? You can do a good rundown of Inception, but Scott Pilgrim leaves you wordless?
More along the lines of I can't engage mfunk on the level he dislikes the film. His opinion is perfectly valid, of course, but if you can't buy into the premise and execution of the film, or consider the characters cliched ciphers, what can I possibly say in the film's defense other than "Nuh-uh!!!" ? I guess to me it's like replying to sentiment like "Singin' in the Rain... ugh, so many musical numbers! And the characters were all so typical. And the corny jokes!" If you don't see magic up there on the screen, how can I convince you something so intangible is there?

However, since I am pretty sure I like this one more than even its most vocal defenders, I promise to contribute something more cogent on the film's merits in the near future.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#96 Post by Finch » Sun Aug 29, 2010 12:35 pm

Count me among those who'd hoped for more from this film: I can't say that I actively dislike it like mfunk does but I agree that the characters needed to be a lot more fleshed out for me to have stayed interested beyond the first 45 minutes (and that Kieran Culkin gives the joint best performance in this with the girl who plays Knives). I used to be heavily into games (only causually these days: beyond Lumines and the PSP port of Symphony of the Night, it's not really much else) and I enjoyed the many visual and aural nods, but my own feeling was that Wright gets a few jokes and the visuals spot on but little else. I first started checking my watch around the hour mark and the strange coda did little to temper my relief when the film was finally over.
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Anyone else think the film would have finished on a stronger note if Scott had chosen Knives instead? Scott choosing Ramona didn't feel logical to me at all
Not tortorous to sit through by any means but not a film I'd stay with if I happened to come across it on TV either. Wright's still one of our most gifted directors though and I stand by what I said about wanting to see him doing a proper thriller with no jokes and geek stuff in it.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#97 Post by David M. » Sun Aug 29, 2010 5:25 pm

Oh, and as for Kieran Culkin - he does the best job in the film with the shallow role he's given, but oh what a shallow role it is. Much like Kick-Ass, this film treats homosexuality like it's just a crude joke. Culkin is never on screen without a title card under him mentioning how gay he is, Cera telling him he's gaying things up, or Culkin himself never finishing a sentence without talking about being gay.
This is something that irritated me about the comics as well. I only read the first two, but it seemed that the writer found homosexuality to be incredibly interesting and elusive to the point that he had to mention it all the time.

I've not seen the film yet, but look forward to seeing if I have similar issues with it.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#98 Post by Cde. » Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:54 pm

Finch wrote:
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Anyone else think the film would have finished on a stronger note if Scott had chosen Knives instead? Scott choosing Ramona didn't feel logical to me at all
The film was written with that ending in mind. The conclusion it has now was tacked on through reshoots.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#99 Post by Foam » Sun Aug 29, 2010 7:56 pm

Am I the only one who has ever met a gay person who constantly underlines their own orientation and reappropriates/self-consciously flaunts queer stereotypes? I thought the Wallace character was a brilliant play on this (perhaps hipster-exclusive?) tendency, rather than a sign of O'Malley's confusion about homosexuality.

Edit: Speaking of hipsters, is the crossover between indie and gamer culture a Toronto thing? Cold weather forcing Rickenbakers and Playstations inside together? In KC and Birmingham these circles always seemed pretty far apart to me.

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Re: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2009)

#100 Post by Cosmic Bus » Mon Aug 30, 2010 12:31 am

Foam wrote:Am I the only one who has ever met a gay person who constantly underlines their own orientation and reappropriates/self-consciously flaunts queer stereotypes? I thought the Wallace character was a brilliant play on this
I'm quite familiar with the type, but it doesn't make Wallace's parade of clichés any less obnoxious... It's a bit like how, say, the Wayans brothers making entire movies out of racial stereotypes doesn't mean it's funny (or even remotely good).

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